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“I Heart School Breakfast” Campaign Encourages SCCPSS Families to Choose Breakfast at School

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To encourage more families to take advantage of the healthy choices available for school breakfast, Savannah-Chatham County PublicSchools will celebrate National School Breakfast Week during March 5-9, 2018.

Busy weekday mornings make it a challenge for many families to find time for a healthy breakfast. However, US Department of Agriculture data shows that more and more students are starting their day with a nutritious breakfast in their school cafeterias. The School Breakfast Program currently serves more than 3 million students every year. Studies show that students who eat school breakfast are more likely to:

·Reach higher levels of achievement in math

·Score higher on standardized tests

·Have better concentration, memory and alertness

·Have improved attendance, behavior, and academic performance

·Maintain a healthy weight

The National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) campaign theme, “I Heart School Breakfast”, reminds the entire school community that school breakfast provides a healthy and energizing start to the day for students. Students will be encouraged to show their enthusiasm for “I Heart School Breakfast” from March 5-9 with special menus, cafeteria events, and more. There will be giveaways such as beats headphones, stickers, pens/pencils, water bottles, notepads, and a special visit from the Savannah Derby Devils at select schools.The menu for the week will feature Chicken Biscuits, McGriddles, Pigs-in-a-Blanket and bacon.

“A healthy breakfast at the start of the day is one way to ensure students are getting the best education possible,” said Onetha Bonaparte, School Nutrition Director. “National School Breakfast Week helps us educate parents and students about all the healthy, great tasting, and appealing choices we offer.” The district serves over 17,000 breakfast meals daily through the federally funded School Breakfast Program. School nutrition professionals in Chatham County prepare breakfast and lunches every day that meet federal nutrition standards – limiting fat, calories and sodium – while encouraging students to choose from the fruits, vegetables and whole grains offered with school meals.”

School breakfast participation nationally has been growing, and several strategies exist to increase it further, including the use of breakfast in the classroom, “grab and go,” and second chance breakfast.Savannah-Chatham County Public School System has implemented grab and go throughout all or most of its schools, and also offers breakfast at no charge to all students in all of its schools. These two strategies have been the key drivers in Savannah-Chatham County Public School System’s increased school breakfast participation rate.

The “I Heart School Breakfast” campaign is made possible by the School Nutrition Association and Kellogg’s®.

National School Breakfast Week was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program, a federally assisted meal program operating in public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions since 1975.